Lent Day 33
by Jason Bursch
Jeremiah 31:31-34, “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, ” declares the LORD. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Hebrews 4:14- 5:10, Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.
In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.”
And he says in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
John 12:20-36
Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
This set of scriptures give us an amazing focal point centered on Christ’s sacrifice and the forgiveness of our sins. As I ponder these passages I’m drawn to one particular sentence found in Hebrews 5 verse 7. It says: “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”
It’s striking to hear that the Lord Christ was in such admitted agony and angst in his humanity. It’s also comforting to remember he truly knows our weakness. Weeping and loud cries rose from our Savior’s lips. Here we know he struggled, wavered, felt the weight of despair, hopelessness, fear, destruction, and insecurity. He saw the punishing horizon just before him and cried out and wept to the Father. For some reason I normally think of Jesus’ relationship with the Father as one of calm, settled peace and surety, with a faith that never pauses under pressure. But this is an encouragement and deeply resonates with our human experience in this sin marred world. His prayerful cries are visceral and raw and exposed. He’s feeling the reality of our weakness. And yet there is the underlying ‘reverent submission’ always. He does not truly falter. He is fully divine. The hypostatic union is on perfect display.
In this fallen world it can feel like every single day we are forced to take small sips from the cup of suffering and despair. There is always something to knock us down off our feet over and again, whether external or internal. And we cry out in agony. Christ lovingly takes that cursed cup of sin, suffering, and death from our hands and drinks it down to the very last bitter sediment. He drinks it all so that he can offer us a shining new cup. An ever flowing cup of new life we drink from in celebration that he has overcome.
In the Dark of Night- by Jason and Joanna Bursch
Standing at this window, I see a midnight sky
Darkness all around me, crowding out my soul
A sleepless night, and I can’t breathe
Familiar peace is out of reach
Are you here? Are you next to me?
Are you near? Do you see what I see?
I’m searching out, in the shadows
For some light, for any glow
Call out my soul, in the dark of night
Will the moon rise, and bring its quiet light?
Sorrow’s swept from under me, the footing I’ve always known
Pulled away the scenery, that had been to me my home
Will I be washed away, will I be cut down?
Will I come to find it’s been me alone all along?
Are you here? Are you next to me?
Are you near? Do you see what I see?
Please calm my fears, will you tell me you care?
Don’t disappear, like the fog in the air
Call out my soul, in the dark of night
Will the moon rise, and bring its quiet light?
Jason Bursch is a worship leader living in Greenville, SC. He and his wife Joanna enjoy playing music, raising their three children, and going on adventures as a family.